Deception is often closer to home
by titans123
Summary: Elizabeth Bennett is the A List actress that falls in love with the ordinary boy, Mr Darcy. Darcy breaks her heart but she returns with a new love but what's Darcy hiding? What has he been keeping from her? Why did he leave her?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The whirling champagne bottle narrowly missed him, leaving it to collide with the wall and shower shards of glass and fizz across the room.

"Lizzie, this is for the best!" The man frantically tried to calm his screaming girlfriend down but everything he said seemed to send her into more of a rage.

Protectively he covered his face with his arms as she manically clawed at him, pulling at his clothes and embedding her nails into his neck, chest, face and back.

He hadn't planned for this reaction, he wasn't expecting her to understand but the pain he was causing her visibly showed on her tear stained face and he nearly considered shelving his plan, 'No, this is the only way to keep her safe_, this has to end_ tonight.'

"Get out!" She screamed at him, as her small delicate fists rained down on him one after the other.

Struggling internally with the agony this was causing her he eventually caved in; grabbing his jacket from the chair nearest the door and heading outside. The door was swiftly slammed behind him, cutting him off from her literally. The air in hallway felt like it was choking him, it had an salty taste to it (_he wouldn't admit he was crying_) and he had no alternative but to rest his forehead against the door, gently touching the door with his finger tips as a feeling of vertigo passed through his body.

This was one of the most famous women on the planet, she was untouchable, unattainable and yet within his grasp she broke down. Although he couldn't see her, he could hear her, sobbing, short sharp gasps of breath, panting as she tried to catch her breath through the tears.

Standing on the other side of the door, he questioned whether all this pain was worth it, was there something else he could have done, some other way to keep her safe but deep down he knew that they couldn't go on pretending they were capable of a happy ever after.

How could they be happy – the princess & the pauper – this wasn't a fairytale, Darcy was living in a world that didn't accept his kind.


	2. And in other news

Disclaimer: I own diddly squat.

_A/N: Okay I know I have changed the grammatical person that this chapter is written in but i'm undecided on which one works better; so I'm going to see what you guys think, tell me which one you prefer and I will either amend the 1st chapter to fit in with the 2nd or 2nd to fit in with the 1st. _

_I know this is a short chapter but I have actually written the majroity of this story it's just taking the time to type it up and I'm suffering from mental block on 'It can't stay hidden forever. . ." it's like the stories there but I want Darcy's words to be just write, so I'm on the 4th draft so hopefully it'll be up soon - keep checking._

_Looking forward to hearing your thoughts._

_Kx_

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_. . . And in other news, reports from the US are reaching us that the A-list beauty Elizabeth Bennett is engaged to be married to her long term movie director boyfriend Charles Bingley. _

_Elizabeth was seen exiting the New York restaurant 'Rice' on Thursday night with singer/songwriter Jane Cortese sporting a pear shaped diamond sparkler that is estimated to be worth around __$ 1.6 million. _

_The actress had been enjoying a relaxed meal with her close friend Jane while on a break from filming her upcoming movie 'Penance'; a source said that "Lizzie and Jane had a really good time they spent the whole evening laughing, signing autographs and spent ages pigging out on desserts. It was obvious to everyone in the restaurant that the girls were ecstatic, Jane kept taking Lizzie's hand and exclaiming that it was the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen." _

_Elizabeth and Charles met on the set of the 2008 Oscar winning movie 'Honest Times' and although the couple have never openly admitted they are dating they have been seen in recent month's house hunting and vacationing together in Paris and with friends in St Lucia. _

_In recent years the stories surrounding the Hollywood actress have not been terribly happy, her father esteemed script writer Carlyle Bennett, died of a heart attack last April, her good friend Charlotte Lucas died in a car crash last November and her long term engagement to her self-confessed 'first love' William Darcy ended in 2007._

_It will be the first marriage for both parties so Charles and Elizabeth we wish you all the best . . ._

* * *

So far this morning I had managed to trip over my chocolate Labrador 'Butler' causing me to nearly broke my toe, spilt boiling hot coffee down my shirt and had a massive argument with my girlfriend, suffice to say it wasn't even 0800 hours and I was already running late, today couldn't get much worse or so I thought.

Navigating my way around the avalanche of clothes Alison had left on our bedroom floor, I grabbed my keys from the side table, shoved my mobile phone into my pocket, manoeuvred Butler to sit by the door ready for me to take him to work with me and jogged into the lounge to turn off the TV.

Alison puts the TV on every morning as background noise while she does her make-up & hair and this morning was no exception she always left the television on and I always turned the television off because apparently you have to have special skills to turn the TV off but not on,

Just as I was about to push in the off button I heard the name that had made me a local celebrity in the village where I live, Lambton, 'Elizabeth Bennett.' I froze, finger pushed into off button, I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't help it I had to listen to the news story about the woman I used to love.

"Engaged?" I exclaimed, my pulse was quickening and the room had suddenly gone a very fuzzy version of what it was five minutes ago "but that . . . how . . ." It was like car crash television I couldn't stop watching_ 'previous engagement . . . William Darcy' _that hurt!

Looking at the images of her on the TV my cheeks felt flushed, three years on and Elizabeth Bennett is still the most beautiful woman I have ever known and I couldn't help but notice the nauseous feeling rising from the pit of my stomach as the image of her with an engagement ring on her finger burned onto my retinas; it was a brutal reminder that she wasn't _my Elizabeth_ anymore.

"Yehp its official, this day can go on record as the 2nd worst day of my life. . ." Before the story even finished my mobile was buzzing in my pocket, I didn't need to check the caller ID I instinctively knew who it would be.

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_A/N: Comments on a postcard :)_


	3. Behind enemy lines

_Disclaimer: I own zip_

_A/N: Thank you for your all your reviews, to confirm the chapters you will see will get progressively longer I'm just time strapped at the minute but I want to get some new material out so the chpaters are slightly shorter but it won't affect the overall story._

_Keep reviewing :)_

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"Lizzie, where did you say you were, you keep breaking up!" The other end of the line broke up and crackled as I cradled the phone to my ear.

"Alex . . . Alex . . . what did you say?"

"Where are you?" The impatient male voice on the other end of the line suddenly blared out of the speaker as my car broke through the canopy of trees that had been blocking the signal.

"I'm in England."

"ENGLAND! What the hell are you doing there?" Alex was my agent and he had been for over six years, I knew he would be having kittens right now, he had seen me through some pretty terrible times in recent years but I wasn't the most reliable person when it came to disclosing my whereabouts or private life, let's just say I had played with fire in the past and got burned. Alex was a good friend and agent to me and we spent so much time together that I knew what he'd be doing right now, he'd be leaning against the door frame of his sea front office looking out over Malibu beach, eyeing up the surfers whilst rolling a Marlboro cigarette between his fingers; his started smoking after my break up, something to do with stress management. "How the hell do you expect me to manage your career when I don't have a fucking clue where you are; every station, magazine and paper from here to Asia has been on my back for an official sound-bite since the crack of dawn and do you know what the funny part is . . . I HAD TO FIND OUT FROM E! THAT YOU WERE ENGAGED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I took the phone away from my ear and smiled at the driver that kept shooting furtive glances to me in the rear-view mirror, Alex always had a penchant for the over dramatic and he was never quiet about it.

"Alex, are you done yet or should I leave you on speaker when I get out the car?" I smiled to myself, Alex liked to make a fuss but he was a fiercely loyal friend to me, he had been the first one to stage an intervention after William.

"Okay, rant over . . . so what's going on why are you in the land of crumpets and cucumber sandwiches?"

"I'm uhh . . . selling the house."

"For real this time?"

"Yes for real this time."

"I need to see it to believe it . . . so how long do you think you'll be there for? Elizabeth . . . Elizabeth . . . ELIZABETH"

I hadn't been listening to Alex for a few minutes, his American lilted accent had faded into the background as I became aware of my surroundings and realised that out of nowhere we had arrived at the place I used to call home.

The small village hadn't changed, the low Cotswold stone walls surrounding the quaint cottages and lush green lawns were still there, with the people I used to know still tending to their gardens and snooping at the foreign car that slinked past their frontages; I physically sank down in my seat because of an irrational fear that they might be able to see me which was ridiculous; the cars windows were heavily tinted.

The sleek black Mercedes slowly rolled through the village and I caught it's reflection in the window of the tiny post office and village hall; it was evident that it, like me, stood out in a place like this and didn't belong. A painful twinge shot through my heart, causing me to clutch my hand to my chest, three years ago I had vowed that I would never return here again yet here I was looking at the same streets, faces and cars that I had done all that time ago, time may have moved on but I hadn't got past the pain this place caused me.

Unconsciously I had put the phone down to Alex without even saying goodbye, I knew I would have a million missed calls from him later but I couldn't deal with my agents hysterical back chat right now; he could go get a sound-bite from Charles if he wanted it that much.

As we pulled off the main road onto Iris Tree Lane I saw them up ahead, the vultures crowding around the detached two storey Cotswold stone house at the far end of the lane . . . they knew I would come here and yet again I proved them right.

"Miss Bennett, we are here?" My driver pointed out the obvious as he pulled onto the drive of 'Bench House' and lulled the engines. The black haired man turned in his seat to face me, letting a small smile tug at either side of his lips which caused his eyes to soften; I felt bad for ignoring his friendly chatter when we got in the car at the airport, I had simply breezed past him, offered him my bags and sat in the back of his car – oh yes, I was definitely living up to the celebrity stereotype now, my dad would be ashamed of me.

Pushing my sunglasses through my hair and onto the top of my head, I took out a compact mirror from my bag and checked that I didn't look too bleary eyed after the 8 hour flight. "You look beautiful Miss Bennett!" My driver offered, waiting for me to respond, I just nodded my head and smiled, I would have to thank him when this was all over.

"I'm ready." I didn't know what else to say, so I stared after the suit clad driver as he got out the car and walked around the car to my side. In the privacy of the car I tried to pep myself up for facing the world "You can do this, pull it together Bennett, and put your game face on." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and plastered my Hollywood smile on, it was time.

The door gradually opened outwards letting the outside world invade my safe haven, I was utterly exposed, the light was flooding in and the cool spring air was wrapped around me chilling my fraught nerves. I had spent the entire plane journey from New York scribbling on napkins, scraps of paper and magazines writing out the pros and cons of visiting my former home, I knew the minute the story of my engagement broke the worlds media would descend on my former home but I was like a moth to a flame I still felt like I owed these people the truth.

The minute I stepped out of the safety zone the waiting crowd erupted, light bulbs clicked and tens upon tens of avid reporters thrust microphones into my face, shouting my name and barking questions at me _"Elizabeth, comment, why are you back here? Where's Charles?"_ I still hadn't got used to this part, it wasn't natural for people to be so curious about others peoples live; being famous had definitely taught me the importance of privacy.

The noise around me made me instinctively grasp at my chauffeurs muscular arm and although at first I thought he was going to jerk it away because of how rude I'd been he didn't, he simple tucked my hand into his arm and smiled down at me, whispering quietly in my ear "I will keep you safe Miss Bennett."

. . . And he did, before I knew it we had navigated our way through the pack of wolves and into the house . . . I was officially behind enemy lines.

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_A/N: Thanks for reading_


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